of the marketer is that the parameters in question are metrics for digital content viewership and not TV .
Digital media consumption has grown rapidly , news being the major driver of the shift to simulcast during prime time on both social media and TV , for some stations even radio . Traditional media has shifted to an online ecosystem and traditional media is leveraging off online and digital media for viewership and advertising popularity . Therefore , it only makes sense to have measurement parameters that can amalgamate TV and digital viewership to clearly define the characteristics of the simultaneous user or viewer across both platforms .
The characteristics of the TV viewer in this case would be very different from those you would define for the online user , yet they are consuming the same media at the same time , only on different platforms . Case in point , news broadcasters have always taken pride in carrying the banner of the leading news channel . This is an important measure for the TV stations as it impacts the advertising rates and speaks to market share and market positioning of these channels and stations .
However , they have now moved their attention to digital reach for its fluidity and always-on nature . This has also opened up an opportunity for small players to join the league of Supremes . Smaller more local , vernacular stations are now being recognized for their relevance and their ability to offer customers niche content . The top stations have therefore moved their ratings report to online audiences where they have the muscle and numbers to justify their advertising costs and can amplify the advertising benefits with digital offerings .
There are a few deductions we can make just looking at the media landscape and digital penetration in Kenya . First , let ’ s keep in mind that fixed home internet connections by households are circa 541,600 , that is about 4.47 % penetration while we have 21.7 million households in Kenya . Internet penetration in Kenya stood at 40 % in January 2021 . 28.2 % of Kenyan ’ s live in urban centers while 71.8 % live in rural areas . There were 11 Million social media users in Kenya as of January 2021 equivalent to 20.2 % of the total population . Mobile phone users are 59.24 million , noting that many people have more than one mobile connection and
5.9M users were registered between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021 . [ Datareportal , 2021 ].
What this data says is that the population to pay close attention to is 4.47 % of Kenyans with fixed home data , the 28.2 % of Kenyans in urban centers who have higher buying power and longer hours of access to internet and the other 20.2 % of Kenyans who are social media users - though the frequency of use is unknown .
While news and TV stations are flaunting their digital numbers , does the online trend match the said popularity ? 71 % of the population of Kenya in rural areas are not captured in this category which means advertising decisions made by the ‘ most viewed ’, ‘ most followed ’ and ‘ most shared ’ TV viewership trends leave out 71 % of people who do not consume online news or TV .
We can also say millennials are digital natives and are consuming TV and news on digital so the channels rating is based on popularity . Brands in this era are very confident when they have a strong digital presence and work with partners with good digital ratings . This bumps up the confidence that they are able to reach more people than they would have with only traditional media . The paradox is that these same people are cross-consuming on mobile and TV therefore they skip advertising and shift their attention as required from screen to screen . The new form of ad skimming or skipping .
Advertisers need to consider the TV viewership patterns in comparison to the digital impressions to find the credibility and context of the viewership numbers when evaluating advertising partners . In summary , paying for ads on TV with added value on digital platforms with a media partner who has 2million followers may do nothing for your brand if you do not keenly consider the times and hours when the most viewed story was aired on TV and viewed on social media platforms - content and context also considered .
The questions you must ask yourself is how to look at digital numbers , are you looking at them to advertise on digital and not TV or vice versa and do the numbers help the TV channels secure more eyeballs ? The real consideration has to be on the customer demographics , psychographics and what the customer is likely doing while the ads play out on TV . Do the customers look back at the TV screen once the ad is over and they have scrolled through a number of social media feeds or will they need a prompt to look back at the TV screen at all after they have looked away because of an ad ?
Granted , digital reach can be a good proxy for now to help determine advertising reach given that TV viewership research is expensive and dated . You can only get statistics for past TV viewership events and trends while the consumer is changing their habits by the hour based on global happenings . The marketer and advertisers should be discerning because TV viewership is still high , yet digital advertising is more interactive and can easily be measured in terms of reach , impressions and views , and immediate impact determined . This is a very good reason for TV ratings reports to adopt digital metrics as the proxy currency for TV viewership trends .
Additionally , digital platforms offer a faster response to determine the audience demographics and psychographics and this shows who is consuming what content on digital . This creates a quick analysis for any brand to determine if its advertising will do well on a particular station and therefore determine the TV channel that a brand will advertise on . However , this should be considered in the global context of where the customer is , how and when they consume digital and online media and if they are simultaneous cross-consumers .
With shrinking boundaries between traditional and online , it is no debate that one platform benefits the other , helps brand integrate better and acquire a more heterogeneous reach and better value for money . However , the trend of using digital numbers as a proxy for TV reach can only be a temporal approach for brands and advertisers to continue to use and determine how they secure advertising . In the long term , the real audience reach , and impact will begin to show in the sales and awareness reports . Advertisers and marketers must be wary .
Diana Obath is a seasoned Public Relations and Communications Specialist . You can commune with her on this or related issues via mail on : ObathD @ gmail . com .